Bullet swaging device



Feb. 8, 1966 R. c. HETTES ETAL BULLET SWAGING- DEVICE 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 14, 1963 4? @V l I J INVENTORS ROBERT C. HETTES RICHARD H.JORDAN Feb. 8, 1966 R. c. HETTES ETAL 3,233,304

BULLET SWAGING DEVICE Filed Nov. 14, 1965 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 55 Tia 5.

I INVENTORS ROBERT C. HETTES RICHARD H. JORDAN Feb. 8, 1966 R. c. HETTES ETAL 3,233,304

BULLET SWAGING DEVICE Filed Nov. 14, 1963 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 All Y (I/ /////////1. ////.?j

INVENTOR5 ROBERT C. HETTES RICHARD H. JORDAN Feb. 8, 1966 R C. HETTES ETAL BULLET SWAGING DEVICE 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Nov, 14, 1963 sz n INVENTORS ROBERTCHETTES RICHARD H.JORDAN Feb. 8, 1966 R. c. HETTES ETAL 3,233,304

BULLET SWAGING' DEVICE Filed Nov. 14, 1963 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 [g1] u) n E INVENTORS N ROBERT c. HETTES 9 RICHARDHJORDAN United States Patent 3,233,304 BULLET SWAGIN G DEVICE Robert C. Hettes, RD. 1, Greentown, Pa., and :Richard H. Jordan, RD. 1, Dalton, Pa. Filed Nov. 14, 1963, Ser. No. 323,663 14 Claims. (Cl. 29-122) This invention relates broadly to a bullet swaging tool and more particularly to a bullet swaging tool for manually producing bullets of desired weight and dimensions.

Bullets which are mass produced by automatic machines, while having a certain degree of consistency, vary to a certain extent in uniformity from bullet to bullet. An ever developing demand for bullets having almost exact uniformity has been developing rapidly in recent years. One of the particular needs for such bullets arises in various markmanship competitions. For this reason, the use of hand swagers for making bullets has grown rapidly in this country. Additionally, the cost per bullet is much less than the cost of the manufactured bullets.

Most bullet swagers in use today have a C-frame as their major mounting structure, with the pressure exerting member passing through the open mouth of the C- frame and swaging the bullet which is held on one of the jaws of the frame. This particular type of bullet swager has several disadvantages. When the required pressure for swaging the bullet is exerted across the C-frame, the frame tends to bend outwardly, thus separating the jaws. This flexibility has led to a non-uniformity of the bullet swaged. Additionally, when operating this type of device, a certain amount of time must be allowed for the metal C-frame to return to its original position in order to obtain any degree of uniformity whatsoever. A further disadvantage of the C-frame type of bullet swager is that it is very limited as to the hardness of the metal which may be used in making the body of the bullet.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a bullet swaging device which consistently swages bullets of uniform weight and dimensions. Another object of this invention is to provide a bullet swaging device having a precision fit between its mating parts.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a bullet swaging device having a camming device maintained in straight alignment with the die.

A further object of this invention is to provide a swaging device which minimizes wear and friction due to high swaging pressures.

A still further object is to provide a swaging device having an in-line metal to metal contact throughout the swaging operation.

A still further object of this device is to'provide a bullet swage using a cam member which swages on the upward stroke and ejects the finished bullet on the downward stroke.

Another object of this device is to provide a swaging device which is adaptable with interchangeable dies.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a bullet swaging device using a mechanical fast-action rolling die block for accommodating ejection of the finished bullet.

These and other-objects of this invention will become apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one form of the swaging device in assembled condition;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along lines 2--2 of FIG. 1;

Patented Feb. 8, 1966 FIG. 3 is an exploded view of one form of body die together with the aligning structure;

FIGS. 48 are sectional elevational views of the device taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 2 showing the various cam operations;

FIG. 9 is an illustration of a type of cap and cut wire used for the swaging operation;

FIG. 10 is an illustration of the finished bullet as it is ejected from the device;

FIGS. 11 and 12 are sectional views of modifications of the body die and head illustrating several means for assuring positive alignment of the dies;

FIG. 13 is a sectional view of a wad-cutter die used for swaging pistol bullets;

FIG. 14.is asectional viewtaken along the lines 1414 of FIG. 13;

FIGS. 15 and 16 are views of the rolling block which may be attached at the top of the die housing for fast removal of the head member;

FIG. 17 is a sectional view taken along lines 1717 of FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is a sectional view taken along lines 18-18 of FIG. 17; and

FIG. 19 is a sectional view taken along lines 19-19 of FIG. 17.

Turning now more specifically to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows an outer casing 11 including a mounting flange member 13 extending substantially vertically therefrom. It is noted that although this device may be operated in a horizontal position it is preferably mounted with the flange member horizontal and the casing die extending substantially vertically therefrom. The casing 11 has a slot 15 therein which accommodates a cam member 20 rotatably held in position by a pin 17. A handle 19 may be attached to the cam to give additional leverage for rotating the cam against the swaging pressure. In the particular modification of FIG. 1, a screw cap 69 is shown for securing the head die within the casing. The flange 13 has boreholes 16 therethrough to facilitate mounting of the device.

As more clearly shown in FIG. 2, the cam member 20, which is rotatable on pin 17, bears against a metallic wheel 29. Wheel 29 is rotatably mounted by means of pin 31 in a slot 27 of the cam follower 25. The cam follower 25 is slideably fitted within a bore hole 23 in the after part of the casing. An ejector pin 32 is secured to the cam follower 25 and extends forwardly through an internally threaded bore hole 33 within the casing 11.

A die housing 35, which is externally threaded, mates with the internally threaded bore hole 33 and may be adjustably positioned therein. The maximum internal position of die housing 35 is determined by the shoulder 37 at the rear end of the threaded bore hole 33.

Slideably mounted within thedie housing 35 is a body die 39 having a cylindrical bore hole passing therethrough of a dimension such as to accept the ejector pin 32 therein. Body die 39 is held in position by a loosely fitting trap pin 41 which meets with a circumferential groove 42 about the body die. The lands 44 and 46 align the body die within the body housing. The die housing 35 has a reduced bore hole 49 which creates a shoulder 47 for the body die 39 to abut againstwhen in its assembled position. A half jacket 51, which may be made of copper or the like, and a cut wire 53 are shown in place within the body die prior to the swaging operation.

After the die housing 35 is positioned within the casing to the depth desired, a lock nut 55 may be tightened in order to hold the housing in that position.

A head member 57 is slideably fitted within the die housing and abuts against the forward end of body die 39. Head member 57 has a radial edge which abuts against the radial edge of a levelling washer 73. The head 57 extends forwardly and terminates in a nose section 61 having a bore hole in the forward end thereof. In the particular embodiment of FIG. 2 there is shown a recess 65for creating an ogive configuration at the head of the bullet. A weep hole 67 connects the ogive recess 65 to the bore hole 63 in order to accommodate the excess metal developed in the swaging operation. A securing means, here shown as a cap 69 is threaded onto the die housing 35 and may be held in position by means such as a lock washer or a cotter pin 71.

FIG. 3 shows an exploded view of the body die 39 together with the head member 57 including the ogive recess 65 and the weep hole 67. When these parts are mated, it

' can be seen that washer '73, together with the lands on the body die assure axial alignment of the elements regardless of possible thread misalignment.

Turning now to FIGS. 4 through 8, the cam member 20 includes an arcuate slot 21 through which the pin member 17 passes. The cam member includes point A and point B which bear against the wheel 29 in order to move the cam follower 25 and the ejector pin 32. Initially, the cam follower is positioned with the pin in the arcuate slot as shown in FIG. 4. Upon upstroke, point A of the cam 20 creates a fast forward motion of the cam follower 25, driving ejector pin 32 against jacket 51, and as the cam proceeds around to point B, extreme pressure may be exerted for the final swaging operation which drives the ejector pin 32 further into the body die and swages the bullet into the shape as illustrated in FIG. 5.

FIG. 6 illustrates the position of the cam after point B has passed the wheel 29 and the swaging operation has been completed. At the completion of the swaging operation, the screw cap 69 is removed, thus removing as a unit not only the cap but also the head member 57, leaving the end of the device open for ejection of the bullet.

The cam member 20 is then, in effect dropped so as to assume the position shown in FIG. 7 with the pin 17 in the other end of the arcuate slot 21. This movement of the cam effectively increases the distance between the pin 17 and the point A of the camming surface so that as the cam member is rotated counterclockwise about the pin 17 the forward surface A projects further into the casing. Therefore, as the cam member reaches the position shown in FIG. 8, it again bears on the wheel 29 forcing the cam follower 25 to its ultimate position against the body die 39. Since the ejector pin is designed so as to terminate just short of the forward end of the body die, the finished bullet is ejected out of the body die.

FIG. 9 illustrates the bullet jacket 51 which may be of a material such as copper and the cut wire 53 used in making the finished bullet. Due to the fact that the device as described above has direct in-line metal-to-metal contact with no spring action, there is substantially no give between the working parts. Accordingly, the cut wire, which is normally made of pure lead for swaging tools now in use may be made of a much harder consistency by adding antimony or tin, producing a bullet with a body having a greater hardness which accepts rifling without stripping, thus creating great accuracy.

FIG. 10 shows the finished bullet as it comes out of the die with the jacket 51 compressed about the body portion 53 and the ogive portion terminating in the ex cessive material which is bled through the weep hole. This excess may be clipped off with a device such as tweezer clips.

FIG. 11 shows a die housing and body die wherein the alignment is attained by bevelling the body die such as at 78 and creating a curvilinear bevel 80 which abuts against the bevel 78. In this manner the land 46 (FIG. 2) can be eliminated and proper alignment may still be obtained. The trap pin 82 may still be used in the same manner as shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 12 shows a further embodiment of a die housing and body die wherein equalizing Washers 89 and 92 are used in the after end of the die housing 81 and forward of the head which, in this case, has an abutting shoulder 91 which bears against the equalizing washers 92. The body die 85 has a land 87 on the forward portion thereof which meets the land 83 within the die housing in order to obtain the proper coaxial alignment.

FIGS. 13 and 14 illustrate a die housing and body die used in making pistol bullets. These bullets are commonly known as wadcutter bullets which have a plurality of circumferential lands thereon. The body die housing 93 has a frustoconical bore 95 with the larger diameter at the forward face of the housing and the smaller diameter terminating centrally within the housing.

A cylindrical bore hole 117 extends from the after face of the housing 93 to the smaller diameter of the frustoconical borehole 95, The borehole 117 is of a dimension such as to accept the ejector pin discussed above. A split die comprises two halves, 97 and 99, which form a body die of a frustoconical shape to match the frustoconical borehole 95. The split die is inserted into the die housing. A circumferential groove in the smaller end of the split die retains a spring ring which passes about alignment pins 104 and 106. A head 107 having a weep hole and bore hole 113 is shown held in place by means of a cap 109 screwed onto the housing 93 and bearing against an alignment washer 111. Since the forward part of the body die is the base of the bullet, the fiat face of head 107 meets the large diameter end of the body die 97, 99. A plurality of circumferential grooves are machined in the circumference of the borehole within the split die. Since the ejector pin 34- creates the head of the bullet in the wadcutter die, the end of the pin may be recessed to any desired shape so as to produce bullets having tapered noses, round noses, hollow points and the like, such as shown at 36. It should be noted that this type of recessed pin may also be used with the standard body die to shape the tail of the bullet.

In operation, when the ejector pin is forced against a cut wire placed within the split die, the compressive effects swages the bullet to the dimensions of the cylindrical borehole and into the circumferential grooves, giving the bullet the desired wadcutter configuration.

Because of the grooves 101, the wadcutter cannot be ejected in the manner described in connection with the previous figures. Therefore, when the cap 109 and the head 107 are removed and the camming surface forces the ejector pin forward, the wadcutter is driven forward and the entire split die moves outwardly from the housing 93. As the die moves outwardly, the spring ring 105 holds the smaller diameter of the split die together, allowing the wide diameter to fall apart as it is released from the housing. The wadcutter bullet may then be easily removed from the device.

Turning now to FIGS. 15 through 19, there is illustrated a rolling block type of construction which provides a rapid means for removing the head before the ejection operation begins. This construction eliminates the need for manually unscrewing and removing the cap 69 shown in FIG. 1.

The die housing 121 is held in the outer casing 123 and locked into position by lock nut 125 in the manner as described hereinabove. A housing ring member 131 is threaded onto the die housing 121. Two link arms 133 and 135 are rotatably supported on the outer circumference of the ring member by retaining means 137. A rol ling block 14-1 is rotatably supported between the outer ends of the two link arms 133 and 135. Legs and .157 extend downwardly from block 141 between the link arms. A further ring member .159 is rotatably supported between legs 155 and 157. The head 129 extends upwardly through the center of ring member 159 and is secured thereto by means such as a cotter pin 165.

It will be noted that the eccentric stud 151 has indicia thereon indicating a low and high position of the eccentric arms 147 and 149, FIG. 17. The purpose of the eccentric is to provide an alignment of the link arms with the device when it is mounted. When the device is screwed onto the housing 121, it will stop when the head 129 abuts against the body die 127. At this position, the link arms may beat an angle such that it is diflicult or inconvenient to work the device by means of knob 175 and handle 173. Accordingly, the eccentric stud is positioned to the low point L on the etched arrow pointer. The assembly is then backed off by turning counterclockwise about the die housing to the properly aligned position. The eccentric stud is then revolved towards the high point H until the dies once again make a firm contact. The set screw 171 is then tightened to maintain this position.

A screw 167, which passes through a threaded aperture 169 in block 141, is tightened so as to, act as a stop and prevent the arm from moving beyond its vertical position in the opposite direction. Additionally, the housing ring 131 is bored and threaded so as to receive an S-shaped pin 177 which may also be used in the opposite threaded hole 178 for reverse operation. The S-shaped pin acts as a stop when the lever arm 173 is pulled downwardly as shown in FIG. 16 and prevents the link arm 133 from passing beyond a substantially horizontal position.

After the swaging operation is completed as shown in FIG. 6, the handle 173 is moved in the direction as shown in FIG. 16 which lifts the cap 129 from contact with the body housing and allows the ejector pin to eject the bullet as indicated in FIG. 8. All that is then necessary is to drop another jacket and cut wire into the body housing and return the lever 173 to the dotted line position shown in FIG. 16, thus clamping the head 129 back against the body die, and the device is ready for another swaging operation.

It will now be evident that the present invention pro vides a bullet swager wherein there is a direct, positive metal to metal contact throughout the entire swaging and ejecting operation. Therefore no spring pressure is relied upon and any possible inherent spring effect from any of the mating parts is eliminated. Therefore, the device produces extremely uniform, relatively hard bullets for precision use.

It is to be understood that various modifications of the particular elements may be made without departing from the scope of the invention and that the invention is only to be limited in accordance with the following claims.

We claim:

1. A bullet swaging device comprising an outer casing having a mounting flange extending therefrom, a threaded borehole in the forward end of said casing, a die housing threaded into said threaded borehole, a body die having a central borehole therethrough removably secured within said die housing, coaxial therewith, a removable head including a weep hole within said die housing in abutting relationship to said body die, means for axially aligning said head and body die within said die housing, adjustable locking means on said die housing for securing said housing to said casing at variable positions within said casing, removable means at the forward end of said die housing for locking said head in said abutting relation to said body die, a second borehole in said casing extending coaxial ly from said threaded borehole rearwardly and terminating short of the rear end of said casing, a movable cam follower within said second borehole, an ejector pin extending from said cam follower coaxially through said second borehole. and said threaded borehole into said body die in sliding relation therewith, a slot through said casing extending from said second borehole to the rear of said housing, a cam member within said slot for contacting said cam follower, an arcuate slot in said cam member, a pin secured to said casing and extending through said arcuate slot in said cam member, and a handle secured to said cam member.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein said removable at the forward end of said die housing comprises a first ring member th-readably secured to said body die, a pair of link arms rotatably secured at their lower ends to opposite sides of said ring-member, said link arms extending outwardly from the end of said die housing, a-block "member rotatably supported between the upper ends of said link arms, a pair of substantially parallel legs secured to said block member and extending between said link arms, a second ring member rotatably mounted between the extremities of said legs, means for securing said removable head within said second ring member, and a handle secured to said block member.

4. The'd'evice of claim 1 further comprising an ogive die recess in said removable headbetween said weephole and saidbody die.

5. The apparatus of claim l'wherein said body die comprises, a frustoconical borehole in the forward portion thereof having its maximum radius at the forward end of said die, a split frustoconical die within said frustoconical borehole having a substantially cylindrical passage axially therethrough, a circumferential groove about the outer face of said split die at the smaller end thereof, a circular spring ring within said groove, and a plurality of circumferential machined grooves within said cylindrical passage.

6. A bullet swaging device comprising an outer casing having a mounting flange extending therefrom, a die housing having :an axial borehole adjustably secured within the forward end of said casing, removable means on said forward end of said casing for immovably holding said die housing within said casing, a cam follower slidably mounted within said casing rearwardly of said die housing, an ejector pin secured to said cam follower and slidably passing into saidv axial borehole of said die housing, a cam member, pin means for rotatably mounting said cam member in said casing adjacent to said cam follower, and a handle secured to said cam member.

7. The device of claim 6 wherein said cam follower comprises a cylinder having a rotatable wheel mounted therein adjacent to said cam.

8. The device of claim 6 further comprising an arcuate slot in said cam member through which said pin means passes.

9. The device of claim 7 wherein said removable means comprises a head member having an ogive recess abutting against and aligned with said axial borehole, a weephole extending outwardly from said ogive recess, and a device secured to said die housing and abutting against said head member.

10. In a bullet swaging device including an outer casing having a mounting flange thereon, a die housing adjustably secured within said die housing, a borehole within said body die axially aligned with said die housing, a slot in the other end of said casing aligned with the axis of said die housing, a pin secured to said casing and passing perpendicularly through said slot, a cam rotatably mounted on said pin, a cam follower slidably mounted within said casing adjacent to said cam, an ejector pin mounted on said cam follower and passing into said borehole, and a handle mounted on said cam.

11. The device of claim 10 further comprising an arcuate slot in said cam through which said pin passes.

12. In a bullet swaging device including an outer casing and a mounting flange, camming means rotatably mounted on one end of said casing, a cam follower within said casing adjacent to said camming means, a die housing including a body die having a central borehole mounted in the other end of said casing, an ejector pin mounted on said. cam follower and passing into said central borehole, a removable head member extending within said die housing adjacent to said body die, a first ring member secured to the outer end of said head member, a pair of link arms rotatably secured at one end to said first ring mounted between the extremities of said legs, means for securing said second ring member about said removable head, and a handle secured to said block member.

13. A die for use in a bullet swaging device comprising, ahousing having opposed faces, a frustoconioal borehole in said housing having its maximum radius at one of said faces and its minimum radius within said housing, a split frustoconical body die within said frustoconical borehole, a cylindrical borehole within said split body die axially aligned with said frustoconical borehole, a circumferential groove about the outer face of said split die at the smaller end thereof, a circular spring ring within said groove, a cylindrical borehole in said housing between said split die and said other face of said housing, a pinrality of circumferential grooves within the cylindrical borehole of said split die, and removable means for retaining said split die within said die housing.

14. In a bullet swaging device including an outer casing having a mounting flange thereon, a die housing adjustably secured within one end-'of said casing, a body die removably secured within said die housing, a borehole through said body die axially aligned with said die housing, a slot in the other end of said casing aligned with the axis of said die housing, a pin secured to said casing and passing perpendicularly through said slot, a cam rotatably mounted on said pin, a cam follower slidiably mounted within said casing adjacent to said cam, an ejector pin mounted at one end to said cam follower and passing into said borehole, a recessed area within the other end of said ejector pin, and a handle mounted on said cam.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,154,810 9/1915 Ross 291.22 2,411,379 11/1946 Langhamer 291.22 X 2,451,488 10/1948 Huntington 29-1.22 X

RICHARD H. EANES, JR., Primary Examiner. 

1. A BULLET SWAGING DEVICE COMPRISING AN OUTER CASING HAVING A MOUNTING FLANGE EXTENDING THEREFROM, A THREADED BOREHOLE IN THE FORWARD END OF SAID CASING, A DIE HOUSING THREADED INTO SAID BOREHOLE, A BODY DIE HAVING A CENTRAL BOREHOLE THERETHROUGH REMOVABLY SECURED WITHIN SAID DIE HOUSING, COAXIAL THEREWITH A REMOVABLE HEAD INCLUDING A WEEP HOLE WITHIN SSAID DIE HOUSING A ABUTTING RELATIONSHIP TO SAID BODY DIE, MEANS FOR AXIALLY ALIGNING SAID HEAD AND BODY DIE WITHIN SAID DIE HOUSING IN ADJUSTABLE LOCKING MEANS ON SAID DIE HOUSING FOR SECURING SAID HOUSING TO SAID CASING AT VARIABLE POSITIONS WITHIN SAID CASING, REMOVABLE MEANS AT THE FORWARD END OF SAID DIE HOUSING FOR LOCKING SAID HEAD IN SAID ABUTTING RELATION TO SAID BODY DIE, A SECOND BOREHOLE IN SAID CASING EXTENDING COAXIALLY FROM SAID THREADED BOREHOLE REARWARDLY AND TERMINATING SHORT OF THE REAR END OF SAID CASING A MOVABLE CAM FOLLOWER WITHIN SAID SECOND BOREHOLE, AN EJECTOR PIN EXTENDING FROM SAID CAM FOLLOWER COAXIALLY THROUGH SAID SECOND BOREHOLE AND SAID THREADED BOREHOLE INTO SAID BODY DIE IN SLIDING RELATION THEREWITH, A SLOT THROUGH SAID CASING EXTENDING FROM SAID SECOND BOREHOLE TO THE REAR OF SAID HOUSING, A CAM MEMBER WITHIN SAID SLOT FOR CONTACTING SAID CAM FOLLOWER, AN ARCUATE SLOT IN SAID CAM MEMBER, A PIN SECURED TO SAID CASING AND EXTENDING THROUGH SAID ARCUATE SLOT IN SAID CAM MEMBER, AND A HANDLE SECURED TO SAID CAM MEMBER. 